Way to the Top

I am losing my mind. Thought Octavia with no small amount of despair, staring at the length of her immaculately cared for bow. What in the world is wrong with me? Her thoughts continued, her body slumping over the comforting bulk of her cello in the midst of her living room. The morning had been going so very well, Rarity had even gotten her to completely relax by the time she'd left the spa. She'd come home, put on a pot of tea - took a moment to relish the silence of the empty house. A spot of sweet green tea (with a touch of lemon) later, and she felt ready to face her own mental blockage with courage and verve.

Two hours later her courage had fled, her verve was hiding under the piano and all of her relaxation had fled off to parts unknown - taking her mind and her wits with it. The tuning had gone just fine - Octavia was nothing if not adept at the purely mechanical tasks of preparing an instrument for play. Even the basic scales, the complex scales, the bow practice. All just fine, and dandy. For nearly half an hour, Tavi had even entertained the thought that perhaps she had simply been overthinking things.

Then she'd tried to play.

It had been a disaster of Wagneighrian proportions. She could handle simple songs - songs she had learned countless years ago as a filly, the sort of thing one heard at children's recitals.. But anything with even the most remote of complexity or depth turned into an ear-shattering bit of torture. This wasn't merely bad it was atrocious on a level so deep it defied the very concept of bad and shamed it into committing suicide. She'd even tried backing it up, working her way through her repertoire piece by piece right down to the simplest, most elegantly composed, single sheet of music pieces but.... nothing.

Too much pressure on the frets, too much weight with the bow, there was always something so fundamentally wrong to Tavi's ears that it set her teeth to grinding. Every failure had fed into the next, in spite of her very best efforts to remain calm and relaxed. It wasn't until she saw a tiny drop of moisture hit the side of the neck that Octavia realized she was crying. That her breathing was coming in short, painful sobs. No. She was stronger than this. She was. "Again." She said firmly to herself, lifting the bow and taking up the playing position, holding her head up high.

Then a soft tinkling sound entered her ears, just as bow met string - The sounds of piano notes gently rolling through the room in support of the melody she had on the page before her. And without so much as a how-do-you-do, the cello sang. Octavia dared not look up, dared not question the sound in her ears - The piano played and the cello wove with it. Through melody and harmony together, Octavia's tear filled eyes closed and she listened to the hushed sweet tones of her instrument.

The piano cut through the anger and the despair, the rage and the grief and pounded through her veins like quicksilver. Her hooves moved, the deep dark tones of the cello moving amidst the bright sounds of the Piano with practiced skill. The Piano dipped low, and the cello followed it - like color and life and music all turned into fae light and dancing within her. Tears fell from her eyes as the two instruments played together - together, as they ought to be.

The music flowed, and Octavia felt the knots in her shoulders relax, her headache that had been threatening for hours vanished like mist under the sun. This was good. This was right. This was... Music. Octavia's movements became bolder - her music taking on entirely new dimensions as she vigorously drew her bow back and forth across the strings, singing out melodies she'd never seen before on a piece of music - just following the gentle and insistent rhythm of the piano in her ears. What had begun as a classic piece had become something else, something joyous and wonderful.

Slowly, achingly, the music came to a close, with a single long note wailing softly from the cello in her hooves. She sagged against it as silence filled the room, her tears still gently streaming - but no sobs emitted from her throat. She opened her eyes to look into the beautiful eyes of her sister, Vinyl - who was holding her gently in her hooves. "Feel better?" She asked quietly, and Octavia found herself nodding dumbly.

She felt her flank hit the hard wooden chair with a little thump, and watched as Vinyl carefully, softly put away the cello into its soft case, and tucked away the bow with all of the care Octavia could have demanded. Octavia still only felt numb, if exhilarated as she sat there in the chair - until Vinyl tugged over another heavy wooden seat and popped up on it. She reached out, Octavia feeling the firm texture of her hooves and the soft coat of her fetlocks. "Talk to me, Tavi." she said, in her most gentle voice.

Octavia sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, trying not to panic. How much had Vinyl seen? How much had she guessed? Too much. Her breathing came quicker now, slowly panicking as her mind whirled in circles. Had she read the mail in the trash? Had she slipped up, said the wrong thing? Had she been seen crying? Had she- "Octavia Mezzo Piano!" Said Vinyl's voice in the sharpest tone Octavia had ever heard her use. "Talk. To me." Vinyl emphasized her words, squeezing Tavia's hooves. "Please." she plead softly to her, eyes full of worry.

That opened all of Octavia's floodgates. All self-possession fled out of her soul, all confidence and verve vanished, and with them the lies she told to protect the mare she loved. She dissolved into tears again and threw herself into Vinyl's lap, craving that physical comfort like nothing else in the world. Vinyl simply took her into her hooves and stroked her mane, and made soothing noises. She did not care about the soaking of tears and strangled sobs into her shoulder. This was safe, this was home. Here, in her arms, she didn't have to put on that brave face for the audience.

"I don't... I can't..." She sucked in a deep breath. "I'm a failure, Vinyl!" She cried out, trying to hide herself in Vinyl's shoulder. The sobs continued to wrack her again, her words coming out in fits and starts. "I cannot play in front of an audience!" Another sob, this one harder than the rest. "I cannot compose! I cannot even get into a bucking orchestra to save my life!" More sobs came, over and over again. "I am.. jealous of you, and it is tearing me up! This is not proper of me!" Her sobs turned into painful coughs, and Vinyl kept holding her. She didn't spurn her or toss her aside. She simply held, and caressed her back. "Vinyl... I cannot... I am so very tired, Vinyl..." Her shoulders sagged helplessly, leaning against Vinyl.

"S'okay, Tavi. S'okay. Let it out." Vinyl gently soothed at her, letting her get out all the pain and bile that had built up... Eventually, pain began to blur in the mass of wet coat fur that Tavi had left on both of Vinyl's shoulders. Tears ceased to flow, and sobs ceased to wrack her breath. The gentle stroke of the hoof against her back and mane, the soft sounds of understanding all began to penetrate through the self-anger and sadness.

Soon, Octavia was nuzzling up towards dry coat, softly wrapping herself around Vinyl's figure. "I'm so sorry I didn't say anything before, but..." Octavia's words were stymied by a gentle hoof against her lips. Vinyl smiled at her softly, and shook her head slowly.

"No, sis." Vinyl said, gently and firmly. "I'm the one who oughta be sorry that I didn't see this. I'm sorry I'm such a thick-headed dunce that I didn't see how bad things were getting." Vinyl shushed Octavia's attempt to deny this, with a gentle kiss on the lips and a fierce hug. "I'm gonna make this up to you, Tavi - and we're gonna fix this thing together." Tavi sniffled softly and nuzzled gently against Vinyl's cheek, aching for the comfort of that touch. "Remember, Tavi? We." Vinyl gently poked Tavi's chest, and then her own. "That means you plus me. We'll figure somethin out, I promise."

Octavia blinked away the last of the tears and smiled softly. "Thank you, love." She said, in her gentlest of voices. "I'm... I'm lucky to have you." she spoke again, sniffling softly then examining her mane with a despairing look. "Oh bollocks, it's all mussy now. On top of everything else, I can't even keep my mane straight." She said, sighing dramatically...

Vinyl just stared at her, and then burst into laughter. Bright, cheerful, obviously helpless laughter. Octavia half glared at her for that... and then gave a big smile. Vinyl's humor was nothing if not infectious. "Well, we better go fix it up then, shouldn't we?" Vinyl said with a dangerous glint in her eye.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vinyl carried Octavia up the stairs, cradling her in her hoof like she was a little foal - with just a teensy bit of help from her magic to keep her balanced. Tavia clung to Vinyl and actually giggled softly on the way up the stairs, obviously enjoying the unique experience . Damnit, Tavi. I'm gonna fix this. Vinyl thought stubbornly, trying her damnedest to keep a cheerful, soft smile on her face. Did I get so wrapped up with my own shit that I stopped paying bucking attention? Had to be. Well, that bull stops right now. The pair of them turned the corner of the upstairs landing, and Vinyl clicked open the door to the bathroom.

Within, Vinyl didn't even bother to shut the door. Her horn lit up as she manipulated the knobs and a fresh stream of water began to spout out of the shower head. Octavia laughed again - this time far more genuinely than the nervous play-giggle of before. "What is it with you and showers, Vinyl?" Octavia asked her in a warmth filled voice. "One might think you were part seapony!" That fetched another gentle giggle from Octavia that filled Vinyl's ears and made her grin in return.

"I like being hot and wet. What's wrong with that?" Vinyl teased back, waggling her eyebrows in exaggerated suggestion as she set Octavia gently down on the sink-top. Tavi gawked at her a little, and Vinyl winked, tossing her shades into a little basket atop the toilet. "Seriously, Tavi. We've been doing this..." Then she grabbed a hoof full of Tavi's mussy mane and pressed a hard, deep kiss onto her lips - flooding Octavia's mouth with her tongue and passion for a few searing seconds before pulling back with a smile "For almost half a year now, and me makin' dirty jokes at ya makes you blush?" It was a gentle tease, meant entirely in fun.

What Octavia did next though, very much surprised her. "Do that again." Tavi whispered, her eyes suddenly wide with shock. Vinyl blinked at this, wondering exactly what was going on... but she leaned in anyway, to press that firm kiss to Octavia's lips.. who backed away shaking her head. "No, not just that. A-all of it." Her voice was trembling faintly now, as the room began to slowly fill with steam.

Vinyl quirked an eyebrow... and then replicated what she did. She grabbed that hoof full of mane, quite firmly... and this time paying attention, noticed the faint gasp of pleasure escaping Tavi's lips. "D'ya like that?" Vinyl asked quietly, reaffirming her grip on Octavia. With her hoof full of mane like this, she could easily control Tavi's head and where it went. Tavi gave her a little nod, her lips parting to dart her tongue over them. Vinyl felt a surge of powerful lust rush through her, as she pulled that head slowly down towards her lips - and Octavia didn't resist in the least. Letting Vinyl control her head all the way to the point where Vinyl's tongue darted out to brush up against Tavi's lips...but not to kiss her. Tavi's eyes widened, but she did not try to strain forward as Vinyl gently caressed her lips with her tongue, teasing as though she intended to kiss - but never touching with lips.

For a few long moments, Vinyl continued to tease her sister this way - the steam slowly adding sheen of sweat to their coats as the hot water continued to spatter inside the shower. Drop the fuckin' bass... She's gone all subby on me! Vinyl thought with some surprise, and once again got gobsmacked when Octavia's lips parted and she spoke again, her voice hushed and heated. "Please... V-vinyl... I won't break.." Her eyes opened and there was a slightly glassy look to them, as though she was fighting with something inside of herself. "I want this... this..." She gestured helplessly up at the hoof in her hair, clearly lacking the vocabulary to describe what was going on inside of her head. "I don't have the words... Help me?" She finally whispered, looking... not scared, not excited... someplace in between. Hungry, almost.

Vinyl took a deep breath. Stay calm Scratch. She's had a heaping helping of helplessness, she needs to feel protected right now. "It's okay, Tavi. Shh." Vinyl gently stroked her cheek, kissing it softly. "I can help you. C'mon." She tugged off the collar and tie, setting it next to her shades and pulling the all too willing pony with her under the hot, fast water of the shower head. Gotta be gentle. Vinyl reminded herself sternly, and gently turned Octavia around "Up on your hind hooves." She said softly, but firmly. Determined to do right by the mare she loved.

~~~~~~~~~~

Octavia did not know what she was doing. She did not know what had moved her to say those things. She did not understand this strange feeling fluttering in her chest. What she did understand was that doing as Vinyl told her sounded so very lovely right now. So she lifted herself up onto her back hooves into the 'standing performance' position. Doing so sent the splashing of the hot water straight into her chest rather than into her face, which was an odd sort of feeling.

"Now, gimmie yer front hooves." Vinyl half-growled behind her. Octavia complied slowly, shifting her weight a little to steady herself in the awkward position without a cello to lean on. Vinyl took hold of her forehooves and squeezed them softly, then pressed them flat together behind the small of her back. Octavia quelled her confusion, and just... waited. It was amazing how waiting like that could feel calming but... it was. "Now keep them there. Don't move em one inch, mkay?" Vinyl said, with a gentle nibble along her neck. "You've taken care of me plenty, Tavi. Now it's my turn." She said softly, hotly into Octavia's ear...

Soon, Tavi could feel the hot water spraying up over her head and mane as Vinyl adjusted the shower head. Then... to her shock and pleasurable amazement, Vinyl took up a hoof brush and started to work it slowly through her wet mane. No magic, no impersonal telekinesis. Just her hooves and a brush. It was incredible. She wanted to reach back and... No. No, Vinyl had said not to move her hooves. So she wouldn't. She would just... let go. Slowly, every nerve in Octavia's mind that screamed at her that she had to reciprocate began to quiet down with every soft, gentle stroke of the brush.

Vinyl gently tugged out the knots in Tavi's mane, gently smoothed out the places where the crying and jerky movements had mussed it into a rats nest. Her other hoof gently gripped Tavi's shoulder, and slowly instincts began to take over - she did not move her hooves, but she tried to back up a little into the warm body of her lover. "Ah, ah!" Vinyl chided her gently, pushing her away. "I didn't say you could do that, Tavi. Stay. Be still." She purred softly, sweetly into Octavia's ear... and Octavia shivered at the feeling. She was still. Calm. Collected. Her eyes closed and she simply let things happen.

It was... an unusual sort of feeling. Like being a part of an orchestra. You were never entirely in control of your own music - you played to the whims of the conductor. If he demanded more volume, you gave him such. If he demanded you hold, you held. Faster Rhythm? You went faster. Vinyl had become her conductor, and like any good musician - she would obey the direction she had been given. The brush continued to gently tug and pull through her mane, and Octavia remained as perfectly still as though she were on stage. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, a deep rhythmic sort of breathing that slowly calmed the little eddies in her mind. She was turned on, incredibly so and she did not want to move to alleviate that excitement. She wanted to be told to move, to let the music truly begin.

This was all so very strange, so surreal. Something tickled at the back of Octavia's head as Vinyl now gently shifted the shower head so she could begin lathering Tavi's favorite sweet lemon shampoo into her hair. Vinyl's lips nipped and kissed at Octavia's shoulders and neck - sending little thrills of electric pleasure through her still body. Her lips parted as Vinyl gently ran her tongue all the way up Octavia's spine, and a soft note - a perfect middle C - escaped from her lips in the form of a moan. "Ahn~!" It hung in the air between them, a single note of sensuality.

Soon, Tavi's mane was perfectly lathered, and the hot water was turned up again to allow her to slowly rinse out the soap. For a moment, she could feel nothing, see nothing that Vinyl was doing. Slowly, during that moment, her excitement rose and rose, anticipation eating away at herself control like an acid. Then a soft touch, and the feel of a tongue between her thighs. Her whole body trembled in response... but she did not move.

Then came a low chuckle. "Good girl. You've earned a little reward." said Vinyl, somewhere down between her legs. The tongue started to dart up her thighs, licking a little, nibbling a little, then moving up and on - A tiny peek down saw Vinyl's horn poking out between her thighs and her eyes began to widen. Surely Vinyl had no intention of... Her thought process derailed immediately, at the electric touch of the tip of Vinyl's tongue teasing at her marehood. Her white hooves were planted firmly on Octavia's flank and holding her still while Vinyl went to work licking deeply into her.

As much incredible, powerful emotion had existed between them - Tavi had never felt so much love for Vinyl right at that moment. Her tongue slowly slipped up and began to push in between her lips and softly penetrated her, putting its length and talent to good use. Octavia's mouth parted and another moan, this one far longer, filled the steamy bathroom. "Oh, Celestia." She whispered softly, and then moaned again as that tingly tongue wedged itself in a little deeper. Forget sex toys, this was incredible, not just in terms of the bolts of pleasure that shot up from her nether lips every few moments. Oh no, that was nice, but Octavia felt so... safe.

So loved. So controlled, and she loved it. Her hips began to buck little bit and Octavia stopped them. Just the mere act of forcing herself to be obedient to this command was nearly enough to set off her orgasm, and that wriggling tongue was not helping. So she did the only thing she was still allowed to do - She moaned loudly and sweetly, filling the room with the musical sounds of her pleasure. At this rate, she was going to orgasm... very... very soon.

~~~~~~~~~~

She shifted her position, admiring the fact that Octavia had taken to the submissive pose rather well. Who'd a thunk that the calm and collected cellist would be such a submissive? Vinyl's thoughts raced with the opportunities... and possibilities while she worked - her hooves stroking firmly at Octavia's thighs and her head shifting and pushing up and down slowly in a slow fuck with her tongue, her magic glowing and teasing at Octavia's clit as she did so.. The magic, the touch, the... everything... So. Freakin. Hot.

Octavia didn't take much more of that. Her back nearly arched... and stilled. Octavia had taken the 'be still' command super, super seriously. She was cumming so hard that Vinyl had to pull away, giving off a silent sort of cough and marvel at it - Octavia's body had gone stiff as a harp string - the sounds escaping her were almost... mindless in their pleasure. Vinyl suddenly realized what it was, and spoke quickly. "You can relax and move, now." ...and then Octavia collapsed atop Vinyl on the spot. "Wah!" Was about all Vinyl had time to say, as she nearly got a face full of earth pony, ducking backwards so that Octavia collapsed into her waiting lap, panting more heavily than she ever had in her life. Vinyl gently pulled the limp form of the cellist towards her body, stroking her mane gently and cooing into her ear. "Such a good girl. I'm so proud of you, Tavi."

Octavia was slowly starting to snuggle up under her chin, her breathing slowly coming to normal after a minute or so. She looked up at Vinyl and spoke in her normal, self-assured tones - as though everything was just fine again. "That." stated Octavia, with absolute conviction. "Was the most incredible feeling I've ever had. No exceptions." She tilted her chin up imperiously, her eyes sparkling brightly even in the dim light of the shower and a beautiful smile spread across her face. "Thank you, Vinyl." Then Octavia kissed her in a very nice, soft sort of manner. "I needed that." she whispered softly.

Vinyl felt warmth flush into her heart, and brought her hooves up to hold Tavi's face gently. "Love you, Octavia." Vinyl murmured, much softer than usual. Celestia, she's beautiful. She thought achingly, the limp wet mane arrayed around Tavi's face looked like a waterfall of curls. Then she realized she was staring at her, and Tavi had slowly developed a mischievous smile on her face. "What?" Vinyl blurted out, feeling awful confused. Is there somethin' on my face?

Octavia leaned in and gently brushed Vinyl's own flyaway two-toned mane away from her eyes and spoke gently. "I Love you, Arpeggio. Vinyl." She paused, obviously conflicted for a moment before dismissing it. "Whatever, I love you and that's the end of it." That got a firm nod from her, and then she reached around Vinyl to... turn off the hot water. "You looked like you were staring into the heavens, Vinyl." Octavia teased softly, and Vinyl felt a blush creep up her cheeks very quickly. "Come on. Let's get dry. I think I have a lot to talk about with you."

~~~~~~~~~~

About thirty minutes and some soft kisses later, the pair of them were sitting on the sofa - each cradling their hard-drink of choice. A very strong glass of Chateau De Canterlot for Octavia, and a screwdriver for Vinyl. Octavia often wondered what the appeal of flavorless alcohol inside of a perfectly good fruit juice was. Vinyl had tucked herself quite close to Octavia, and she was certainly not complaining about the soft coat and warmth that the DJ provided. "I haven't had a concert in three months." Octavia began, sipping at the rich and luscious wine. Expensive, but she needed it today. "I've not been able to properly practice either. About the only time all of my skills seem to fall back into place is when I'm playing with you." She blushed, but Vinyl didn't say anything, for which Octavia was glad.

Octavia needed to get a lot of this off her chest before her courage began to fail her. "I cannot even compose. All of my theory lessons vanish into the ether, and I end up writing dirty limericks." She paused, and coughed politely. "Which I immediately destroyed, of course.' That conjured an 'Awwwww!' out of Vinyl, and Octavia immediately smacked her. "Oh, do shut up." Octavia muttered, blushing and hiding herself in the glass of wine for a few moments.

Vinyl took the hit to her shoulder and kept on grinning. Octavia just took another deep pull of the wine and then sighed miserably. "I tried to tell you. I just... I could never find the courage. You were doing so well, things were finally turning up for you. It felt churlish to rain upon your parade with my miseries." She held up a hoof to stymie Vinyl's inevitable comebacks. "Yes, I remember what you told me all those months ago. I remain adamant that I will not allow my personal problems to-" This time, Vinyl shut her up with a hoof and a stern look. Octavia swallowed softly, wondering if perhaps she had perhaps gone astray.

"Tavi. I Told'ja. We're partners." Vinyl said, tapping her hoof against Octavia's chest. "I ain't happy if you ain't happy, and that's that. She nodded her head decisively, then worried at her lip with her teeth. "So. I got's an idea that might help, but I'm not sure how into it you'll be. I know you're pretty traditionalist..." She trailed off, muttering something under her breath. Octavia sighed softly. She dearly loved Vinyl, but sometimes for all of her bluster she lacked confidence in some of her own ideas and innovations outside of her own personal music creation. One wonders how she ever hit it big in her business with how diffident she can be. Octavia wondered silently, instead tapping her hooves and arching an eyebrow - motioning for Vinyl to go on with her 'idea.'

Vinyl stopped biting her lip, and nodded. "Well, Maybe you need to change things up a bit? Like..." She tapped her hooves together in thought, then pointed with a big smile. "Like maybe you an' I could do something together! We could rig up our instruments to some mixers and speakers and put together a sweet little thing, yanno?" Vinyl was bobbing her head, as though she could already hear it. "I mean, whenever I get stuck, that's what I do. Switch it up, try something new, expand your horizons." She wiggled her hoof, Octavia watching with some bemusement. "We'll do a little mixing, see what you like - get you back into the groove, yanno? It really sounds like you're just outta sync with the music."

Octavia pondered that for a few moments, then nodded slowly. It certainly wasn't traditional or something she was strictly comfortable with, but then - nothing she was comfortable with was working properly. Besides, she had enjoyed that club music quite a bit - perhaps it was time to expand her repertoire a little bit. "Well.. It's something new to try." She commented, brightening up. "Certainly, it's better than sitting about like a lemon and feeling sorry for myself." Octavia felt a little bounce enter her spirit, finally having some kind of plan giving her a boost. Besides, It has been quite some time since I've tried to learn a new way of music. Perhaps I have been stagnating a bit.

Vinyl hopped up, downing the rest of her booze with a big grin. "Arright! That's the ticket! M'kay, I'm gonna go pick up some stuff from the shop." The shop, meaning the only purveyor of electrical and magilectrical equipment in town, Filthy Rich's Emporium. "We're gonna need.." She paused, tapping her chin for a moment. "The stuff outta the blue box, the green box and the box labeled 'minis' in my room. Just get everything unpacked and I'll show ya how we set it up, aight?"

Octavia nodded enthusiastically, and hugged Vinyl tightly before she rushed out the door, clearly excited to get started.

Well, two could play the enthusiasm game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took Octavia exactly six minutes and thirty-three seconds for her enthusiasm to get her in trouble. The mini-amps were familiar enough, but the massive tangles of cables and cords were damn near overwhelming as she tried to sort them out.

"What in the name of Celestia's Flank are all these cables for!?" Octavia exclaimed, finding herself all turned around in the ever lengthening stretches of cord coming out of one of the boxes. Then she fell over, tangled up in the electric cordage and yelled to the ceiling. "Oh, Bollocks to this!"

It took another ten minutes to untangle herself from the cordage, shoving it all to one side. She finally opened up the blue box and found... "Huh? A Microphone? What are these records?" Her hooves flipped through them, growing surprised and increasingly amused. "Oh, Vinyl! I never knew!" She giggled brightly... and went searching for a record player.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was almost an hour later when Vinyl was practically humming with happiness as she toted a small bag full of mechanical doohickeys and electric whatsits (Vinyl didn't care about learning all the technical jargon, so long as she knew how to put it all together), which were designed to allow an artist to attach real instruments to electrical mixing and recording equipment. This was gonna be awesome! She'd thought about doing this for months, but there never seemed to be the time or a good reason to amidst all of her new responsibilities and work as an artist and a product promoter. Still, a good artist - especially one in the DJ industry - never stood still. You had to keep up with the trends if you wanted to stay relevant.

Vinyl kicked open the front door with her hooves and slipped inside, throwing the bolt so that nopony would come in and interrupt their jam session. Vinyl giggled madly at the thought of having a 'jam session' with her sister, of all ponies. It was both awesome and ridiculous to think of Tavi in that way, but there it was! Vinyl set down her saddle bags on the kitchen table when her ears caught a snatch of pop-music coming through the house. "Bwah?" Vinyl quipped, focusing on the sound and following it towards the living room...

♫ ~"There - is a place! Where the grass is what's for Din~ner!"~ ♫

"Tavi?" Vinyl asked quietly, poking her head through the living room doorway to find...Octavia, of all ponies - prancing about the living room with one of her stage mics. She had on a slick looking coral pink vest and her hair had been done up in that cute bun Vinyl so loved... along with a pair of braided tails that hung over her ears. Her eyes were closed and a beautiful smile was pasted across her face. Her mouth opened and much to Vinyl's shock, a gorgeous voice flowed out - full of verve and passion for the music.

♫ ~"Charmed! Fun and wild! There must be somethin' in the wa~ter!

Sippin' rainbow juice! Talkin' Elements of Har~mo~ny!

Our Bronies, hang out too! Cuz they know we're awe-some Fillies!

Come on Everypony!"~ ♫

"Oh my Celestia." Whispered Vinyl, barely able to restrain herself at the sight of Octavia bobbing and jamming out to the pop song. She had to stuff her hoof in her mouth to suppress the laughter of joy. Octavia's hooves had taken her atop the coffee table, where her flank bobbed and wove to the pop-beats. "Oh she is adorable." She squee'd through her hooves, and snuck into the room - waiting to see how long it took Octavia to notice her.

♫ ~"You could travel the wor~rld!

But no one can groove like the girls with the hooves!

Cuz when you party with Po~nies,

You'll be seein' Rainbooms! Oh~ooh-ooh!

Equestrian Girls! We're kinda Magic-!"

Octavia' finally spotted her - midway through her big chorus line and promptly fell off the table into a pile of scattered couch cushions. Vinyl burst into laughter as the pop music kept on pumping out of one of the mini-amps, as Octavia lay mortified on the pile of pillows. After several long minutes of helpless laughter, Octavia finally pulled herself up out of the pile with her cheeks beet red and muttered. "I don't suppose I could persuade you to suddenly come down with selective amnesia?" She asked, half helplessly and then sighed as Vinyl shook her head with the biggest grin she'd ever sported on her face. "I didn't think so." Tavi moped, lifting up the needle from the record player and bringing the bright bubblegum music to a halt.

Vinyl recovered finally, with a smile fit to beat the band on her face and her voice breathy with laughter. "Octavia Piano, you didn't tell me you could sing like that! Holy buck, love!" Octavia blinked at her, and Vinyl hauled her up to her hooves with a huge grin. "That was freakin sweet!" Tavi blushed even brighter, enough that Vinyl started to worry about her fainting away from the praise. Vinyl eyeballed the disaster area of cables, couch cushions and record envelopes and rolled her eyes with a grin. "An' you call me messy. C'mon, Tavi. Let's get to work."

The pair of them quickly put their hooves to cleaning up the mess left by Octavia's sudden enthusiasms, with Vinyl carefully untangling the cordage with her magic while Tavi moved around other bits of equipment at Vinyl's direction. Soon enough, Vinyl was going through her normal setup routine with the sound boards while Octavia ever-so-carefully attached the metal bar sensors to her precious cello. "Vinyl, what are these supposed to do?" Tavi wondered aloud, as she carefully tightened the little devices to the neck and fretboard.

Vinyl poked her head up from under the soundboard, half covered in already attached wires. "Uh, They pick up the vibrations of the strings from the neck, and the vibrations of the body from the ones you've put inside it. The little magilectric crystals transfer the sounds to the sound board, where we can modulate it all sorts of neat ways." She grinned. "Dun worry, Tavi - they're made to come off real easily, but I think yer gonna like this." She dove back down, and came up a few moments later. "There. Toss me those cables, I'll hook you up and get to work on the Piano while you give it a go."

~~~~~~~~~~

Tavi eyeballed the thin cables leading away from her instrument into the complicated arrangement of knobs and sliding dials that now took up most of the coffee table. It took her a few moments, but sure enough none of them interfered with her usual playing stance, which she took up confidently. I cannot believe how much better I feel. She thought wonderingly. Was that all she'd really needed? A good cry, and some silly fun with Vinyl? Had she simply been so utterly pent up that it had overwhelmed everything?

Hm. Food for thought. Vinyl flipped a couple switches on the board and gave Octavia a grin. "Okay, yer all set up. Give it a play!" She then bustled over to her Piano, and within moments was waist deep in the Upright's box with a pile of wires trailing after her. Octavia shrugged, and set her bow to strings - then took a deep breath and dragged it across, looking to get a middle C.

The sound rumbled out of her cello... and at the same time, right through the pair of Mini-amps set before her, giving the instrument the power and sound of an entire orchestra-line of cellos all playing in perfect synchronization. The note rumbled up through Octavia's hooves like an earthquake and set her to a little shiver. Dear Celestia, what power! came the faint thought in her head, staring at her bow in mute amazement. She heard a soft chuckle from Vinyl and half glared at her, then set about working her way up and down the scales to check her tuning.

Every note sent little shock waves of sonic assault through her body, the pure volume was like sitting right in front of an orchestra. It was intimidating... and also intoxicating. With this, she had the full power of an entire cellist section at her own beck and call. Vinyl poked her head out of the piano for a moment... just as Octavia set to her work. First, the Chopin. She thought resolutely, setting to the piece with all the quiet vigor the piece demanded.

Her play was far from flawless. The work flowed from her hooves into the instrument with jerks and overpressures - the notes flowed across the room, commanding but not skillful. The music sang against her body like a physical force. She could feel every note of the song rumble through her like almost nothing she had experienced before. Her eyes closed and she ceased to merely 'play' the music, but instead 'felt' it with her soul, heart and body. It was not perfect, it was not all there quite yet...but she could still play, and that was a minor miracle in and of itself.

When the last notes of the strain died away with a glorious feedback hum she could still feel the tension in her bow, but it was lessened. I have been a fool. She thought, silently. Vinyl would undoubtedly contradict such a statement, and Tavi was in no mood to argue the point. If she had just been willing to admit her nervousness sooner, perhaps all of this could have been avoided.

Of course, Tavi still had the slight problem of public anxiety but...No. No buts. You have your skill, Octavia. It has not abandoned you when you play alone. The rest, you can conquer with willpower. By the time she looked up, Vinyl was perched on her piano bench with a huge grin on her face. Octavia blinked and looked up at her, slightly startled out of her reverie. "What?" she asked quietly.

Vinyl shook her head and chuckled. "I never get tired of watching you play." She said quietly, and Tavi felt her cheeks flush again. At this rate, she was going to turn as red as Cheerilee! Vinyl's voice came again, gently. "Okay. I'm gonna try a few things here. Let's pick a piece, uh... Bach five, maybe?" That got a cautious nod from Octavia. That was simple enough, and should hold up to tinkering. Vinyl kept talking, her horn glowing as she began to manipulate dials and knobs on the sound board. "Mmkay. So you just start playing, and I'm gonna... play around with the sound while I play with you." She grinned at Octavia, who guessed the dubiousness she was feeling was showing through. "Dun worry, I think yer gonna like this."

Octavia shrugged and brought her bow back up to the 'ready' position, and waited patiently - once again, Vinyl was her conductor. She waited calmly and patiently as more dials were twiddled and manipulated. Vinyl winked. "You may begin." She intoned in her best faux haughty voice, and Octavia couldn't help herself. She smiled and gently began to stroke gently across the strings. The sound rolled richly out of the speakers in slow tones, filling the room with its sweet sound. Octavia closed her eyes, and exhaled deeply - trying to tap into that place where she'd been just a few moments before....

Suddenly as she moved into the next bar of music, she was startled as the sound coming out of the multiple amps was not merely the note she played - but a harmonic chord of sound as though three different cellos were playing in perfect sync with her. She continued to play slowly, her head tilted in fascination as those three sounds became separate tones, and began to play at slightly different speeds and tones, and a chord became a harmonic melody that played along with her. Remarkable. She thought in surprise, moving into the heavier and more intense middle of the piece.

Octavia's eyes began to widen though - as Vinyl flicked a few dials up and down and adjusted another couple of knobs... Now she could hear her own cello - but the trill of a violin twittered alongside it harmoniously, and a sweet, deep throated viola came in alongside it - gently lending her deep cello a little more depth. Now, every stroke of her bow was like leading her very own string section - Every mistake she made provided instant feedback through the system. Every time she screwed up - the rest of the instruments did it with her.

Little by little, though - her play sharpened. This was like no other form of practice she'd done. She could feel her mistakes instantly, in a way that immediately clued her in to her error. When she over-adjusted, she had no time to think about being frustrated at it - she simply corrected herself. The weight on her bow slowly adjusted to its proper place - the smooth and gently pressure of each stroke calmed, and her breathing calmed with it. After a few moments, she suddenly stopped - as a realization hit her. Her eyes shot open and she half glared at Vinyl... who was smiling coyly behind her electrical equipment. "You're manipulating me." Octavia accused in an amused tone, pointing her bow firmly at Vinyl. "You know how I get when I'm around other performers."

Vinyl's smile was unrepentant. "Ayup. Sure do, which is why I did that." She wiggled a hoof at the sound board and grinned. "I'm tellin' ya, Tavi. You weren't anything more'n a victim of your own damn brain." She leaned over and gently brushed Octavia's mane a bit with her hoof. "Now suck it up. I'm going to get on Betsy and we're gonna rock out a bit... And I've got a proposition for you after!"